We live in a world that everyone that plays high school basketball is getting "recruited" to go someplace and play in college. The concept of "being recruited" gets lost because it seems so watered down. When do you know if you are actually being recruited? You are about to find out.
You just got a form letter in the mail from a certain school while you are a junior. What does that mean? It means that one of the coaches saw you play, liked what they saw, and wouldn't mind seeing you play in the spring or summer during AAU. Very rarely will a form letter truly mean you are being recruited. It means you are on a list for that specific recruiting class. That list sometimes consists of over 300 kids. As much as gives your ego a boost, it doesn't mean a lot in the grand scheme of recruiting.
You received an email from an assistant coach inviting you to campus over the summer. Like the form letter, the email was sent through the program's recruiting database. Every single kid on the list got an email (if they have an email address). Another thing to know is that most programs have a really cool email system that personalizes every email to every recruit. Each email has some really cool graphics that have links to various information regarding the program. The emails look awesome but generally don't mean much, especially at the beginning or during the prospect's junior year.
You got a phone call from an assistant coach during the spring or summer of your junior year. This is the next step in the recruiting process. These personal interactions are what you want. The phone call usually means they are interested in you as a player and want to learn more about you. They will usually gauge your interest, what you are looking for in a college, and what your grades and standardized test scores are. There are times that after one phone call coaches will stop contacting because they know their school doesn't have what you are looking for. It's a start though.
Text messages from coaches start popping up on your phone. These are definitely a good thing, like the phone calls but they can be a bit tricky. Why are they tricky? Through many program's recruiting database, they can send mass text messages to each of their recruits that won't be personalized but sent to their whole list. You want coaches to be specific with you and that's how you know their interest is real. An example of a mass text would be, "Hope practice is going well, we play on the road Saturday vs. _______." An example of an individualized text is, "Heard you played really well against _______ on Tuesday, good luck against ________ on Friday. Looking forward to having you on campus soon."
You see a bunch of schools watching you play during the summer for AAU. This is tricky because AAU usually has good players playing against each other. Just because a coach from a program watches you play doesn't necessarily mean they are watching you specifically. They could be, but they could always be watching someone else as well. Hopefully, you showcase yourself enough that coaches will continue to come and notice you more than they already do.
The assistant or the head coach sent you a hand written note. This is definitely good stuff for you. How easy is it for coaches to send an email or form letter that has been written several times before? Much easier than personally writing a letter to a prospect. Even if a coach writes you a little note on a standard letter is a good sign but a completely handwritten note is much better.
The head coach called you and left a message. Whenever the head coach gives you a call, that's a good thing and that usually means that a school is very interested in you. Assistant coaches usually handle recruitments, especially at the beginning. They will help narrow down the field for the head coach. So, the head coach giving you attention is never a bad thing.
A coach from the school comes to a practice or game. This is when the interest level amps up a bit. If a coach is missing their team's practice to come to yours, then you are a high priority for that particular school. If a coach stops by for multiple practices and/or games during your junior year, that usually means you could have a scholarship coming your way. Coaches aren't going to miss their own practice time in order to watch someone they have little or no interest in. D1 and D2 coaches aren't supposed to talk to prospects after games. They can talk to high school coaches but not a prospect. Again, if they are at a game, that is a good sign for you as a prospect, even more if the coaches come to more than one game. D3 coaches are allowed to talk to seniors after their head coach has released (usually after team talk) them.
In closing, you want personalized communication with college coaches. That is the only true way to know that you are being recruited.
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